2023 Volkswagen Atlas Engine Problems

Your 2023 Atlas may be subject to a recall for engine connecting rod failure (NHTSA Recall 22V753), but the dealership appears to have falsely marked this recall as completed in the system without actually performing the repair work. The dealership initially claimed the recall had been done as part of the Certified Pre-Owned process, but later admitted the work hadn't been performed and promised to complete it. This is a serious safety issue because the engine could fail while driving. The recall repair will need to be completed by an authorized Volkswagen dealership to address the connecting rod defect.

Your engine unexpectedly shuts off and stalls while driving, including at low speeds, forcing you to manually restart it—a dangerous situation in traffic. The problem started within your first year of ownership and has persisted through multiple repair attempts; Volkswagen dealerships have identified it as a defective EVAP canister component that has failed even after initial repairs. You're also experiencing remote start failures with error messages. Fixing this will likely require diagnosis and replacement or repair of the EVAP canister and related fuel vapor system components.

Your engine randomly shuts off completely while driving at moderate speeds, particularly when approaching or stopping at traffic lights and stop signs. When this happens, a message appears saying "Please start engine manually P," forcing you to shift into park and restart the engine manually — creating a dangerous situation in traffic. This problem has become more frequent over time, and VW dealers won't address it because they can't recreate the issue in their shop, even though you have documented when it occurred.

Your 2023 Volkswagen Atlas is making an abnormal clicking sound from the engine while driving at various speeds or when parked, and your check engine light is on. A mechanic found that unknown engine parts may be rubbing against each other, and the issue might be related to a known recall campaign. However, your vehicle's VIN wasn't included in that recall, so the manufacturer won't cover it under the recall program.

Your engine's oil separator and PCV system failed earlier than normal, causing oil to leak into the engine bay and creating abnormal pressure in the crankcase. This can allow oil to contact hot engine surfaces, which creates a potential fire risk, and can lead to loss of oil pressure and engine damage. Volkswagen issued a service action for this issue, but owners weren't notified before failures occurred. The fix will likely involve replacing the oil separator and PCV system components.

Your car's PCV valve (oil separator) has failed twice within 20,000 miles, first around 50,000 miles under warranty and again around 70,000 miles after warranty expired. Both times, you noticed the low oil warning light and saw oil leaking across the top of the engine. A leaking PCV valve can cause excessive oil consumption, oil spraying onto hot engine parts (fire risk), rough idling, and potential engine damage. Fixing this requires replacing the PCV valve assembly, which is integrated into the valve cover.

Your 2023 VW Atlas experienced engine hesitation, rough idling, and near-stalling starting in October 2024 while still under warranty. You provided the dealership with video evidence, but they refused to investigate because no check engine light appeared, and you were sent home without diagnosis. Months later, the problem worsened and was diagnosed as a failed fuel injector requiring nearly $3,000 in repairs, which VW refuses to cover under warranty. Fixing this will require fuel injector replacement or cleaning service.

Vehicle engine shuts off automatically when in ideal or in parking mode.

Vehicle stalls when at very slow speeds which requires you to put the vehicle in park and restart. This has happened over 15 times and last time was 10/29/24.

While reversing, the car shut down while moving. I had to bring the car to a stop, put in park, and restart the car. Second occurrence parking and while pulling in the engine stalled while moving and had to stop, park, and restart engine. No warning lights on dash. Dealership unable to reproduce. Upon looking online this seems to be a common issue for these vehicles. Others complained that it happens when accelerating at stop lights which could cause a crash.

The car stalls while driving. The vehicle will just shut off while trying to back up, pull into parking lots, pull away at traffic lights, and trying to turn into a roadway. It has done this dozens of times. Volkswagon has replaced the eval canister numerous times, as well as other parts. It still constantly stalls while actively driving it on the road. It is extremely unsafe. The evap canister is the known issue, but it continues to break and the stalling issue continues.

The engine completely stalls while driving. It has happened many many times at various speeds and as well as in stop n go traffic. It’s happened on main highways like I-95. No check engine light or any other alerts appear. The screen says put car in “P” (park) and manually start engine. I’ve taken my car to the dealership to report the issue at my 20k miles service. They looked over the car and decided it must be the battery and replaced it. On my way home it stalled again and two more times throughout my day. I called the service department manager to tell her it’s still happening and how stressful and dangerous this is. She has asked for me to leave my car with them to try to figure out the issue. They are however well aware that’s is an issue with their vehicles. I’ve personally spoken to others who have the same vehicle having the same exact issue. These vehicles need to be recalled as soon as possible before someone gets into an accident.

Driving 45 mph on the highway, the vehicle suddenly loses power and shuts off. Dash instructed me to place the car in park and start the vehicle manually. This has happened 4+ times in the last two months. Volkswagen dealer states that no codes are showing and they are unable to fix it. This is extremely dangerous!!

Engine unexpectedly stalls at low speed requiring a full restart. Happened one time to me less than 2 months after purchasing the vehicle brand new. Many others reported the same issue with this model and for them often times the issue persisted after dealer repairs (carbon canister replacement, etc). This is a very serious safety issue since a vehicle stalling unexpectedly in the middle of traffic can throw off the driver or other drivers on the road resulting in a collision. Some reports cite 2021 models and it is concerning the manufacturer did not address the problem going back 2-3 years.